NFL Coach Makes Opinion On Alabama Players Extremely Clear

Since taking over as Baltimore Ravens head coach in 2008, John Harbaugh has welcomed plenty of former Alabama players to his team.

Overall, the Ravens have drafted eight Alabama players in the last 16 drafts, tying them with the New England Patriots and Washington Commanders during that timeframe.

Harbaugh broke down some of the reasons why the Ravens seem to have an affinity for Crimson Tide products during a recent public appearance.

“I think you get a bunch of guys that know how to practice,” Harbaugh said, via AL.com. “They know how to compete in practice every single day. I have to think at Alabama, practice is probably tougher than most of the games. Every single day, you’re fighting for your position.

“At our level, that’s good. It’s good to have guys that know how to work hard and football’s important to them.”

Former Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome is an Alabama legend himself, and Harbaugh said his old boss deserves plenty of credit for helping to build the Baltimore-Tuscaloosa pipeline.

“Ozzie’ll take a lot of credit for it, for sure,” Harbaugh said. “Heck, yeah, it’s Ozzie. But we’ve always had great success with those guys. Maybe it’s because Ozzie knows those guys so well. I think (Alabama coach) Nick (Saban) and Ozzie are very close. They talk a lot. I think Ozzie’s kind of an advisor and confidante for Nick, and the same thing the other way.

“But we always feel like we know those guys really well, and we’ve never been steered in the wrong way. Alabama guys, they like to work, they like to compete. Marlon Humphrey’s one of the best ever, but he’s not the only one. We’ve had so many great players from there. I love those guys.”

Humphrey, a first-round pick in 2017, is still a mainstay in the Ravens' secondary. He made his third Pro Bowl appearance in 2022. 

Humphrey is joined on Baltimore's current roster by ex-Tide defensive back Jalyn Armour-Davis, a fourth-round pick in 2022.